Detail

Poetry and Music Fill Patterson Lounge During Poetry Reading

Byline: by Yolanda Cabrera

Posted: May 11, 2013

About 47 students, faculty, staff and community members met in the Patterson Lounge for the International Multilingual Poetry Reading on Sun, Apr. 28. Each semester the event is hosted by Professor of Spanish José Córdova.

About 47 students, faculty, staff and community members met in the Patterson Lounge for the International Multilingual Poetry Reading on Sun, Apr. 28. Each semester the event is hosted by Professor of Spanish, José Córdova. This semester the gathering was sponsored by the Spanish Department, The Spanish Club Foreign Languages and the Music Club.

Sessions prove to be enjoyable and enlightening

“I was present at José Córdova's first multicultural poetry reading get-together at Wilson College years ago and continue to attend once or twice a year. These sessions are always enjoyable and enlightening. I say this not only because they afford an opportunity to hear the poetry from many ethnic traditions and learn something about the poets themselves, but also because they allow one to read poetry to the group, poetry that is somehow appealing and important to that individual and even sometimes poetry of their own,” said Thomas A. Seward, Associate Professor of Foreign Languages, at Hagerstown Community College. Seward not only read poems in French and Romanian, he told a joke in Spanish with a translation in English.

"I am a big language lover and I really enjoyed the exposure to a variety of beautiful languages from around the world. I was also glad to have the opportunity to listen to live music and connect with the readers on subjects like war, patriotism, love, courage and patience," says Anush Petrosyan '14.

Over 12 languages represented

There were more than 12 languages spoken during the Poetry Reading, such as Nepali, Arabic, Irish, Punjabi and Urdu to name a few.

Beatrice Sanford, Director of Development and Gift Planning said, “Being part of the International Multilingual Poetry Reading on Sunday, April 28, served as an important reminder of the many talented students, faculty, and staff at Wilson College. I had the privilege of reading the marvelous “Indiangrass” written by Sharon Erby as part of the Labyrinth project. We are all indeed blessed to be part of the Wilson community.”

Music was also a huge contribution to the International event. Karlie Bodadilla played the flute and Jeffrey Montwicki was one of the guitarists. The second guitarists, Heidi O’Toole, was accompanied by her two children as she played the guitar.

“I am currently not a student. I guess you would say I am on hiatus because of the loss of my husband, but I would like to say that my children and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the many languages from around the world. To experience and hear from so many cultures is so enriching and beautiful. The experience itself was so inspiring,” said O’Toole.

The Poetry Reading was a successful and meaningful gathering for those who attended. It was a melting pot of music, poetry, jokes and stories.

“The purpose of an activity such as The International Multilingual Poetry Reading is to provide a space and an occasion for those who are interested in reading poetry to do so, regardless of their language, and concomitantly, to foster attitudes of mutual openness and receptivity towards one another regardless of our particular differences,” Said Córdova “The fact that almost 50 people (47 to be exact) would get together to do just that on a Sunday afternoon without expecting any kind of reward is most gratifying, and bodes well, at least, for the participants.”